


You're in Good Company

by understudy_of_everyone



Category: Urinetown: The Musical - Hollmann/Kotis
Genre: Gen, High School AU, I guess nobody really has parents, The parents don't seem to care that their children don't come home from school for like three days, also everyone is ridiculously thirsty, im pretty sure taxing school toilets is illegal, that's why it's water bottles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-22
Updated: 2016-04-22
Packaged: 2018-06-03 21:01:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6626125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/understudy_of_everyone/pseuds/understudy_of_everyone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a story about a high school. It's nothing special, just another medium sized school in a medium sized town that nobody particularly cares about. But the town where this particular high school resides is in the midst of a water crisis. The principal of this school, a Mr. Cladwell, has imposed a fee and very strict rules on water that most students can't pay or follow. It's a choice between having no money for other things and suffering in thirst for these poor teenagers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It's early in the morning, before any students have arrived, when the sun isn't really up and the mist still hangs in the low places. A hall monitor walks around a high school campus.

He's talking, maybe to himself, maybe to the janitor, whom he can't see but who is never far away, about the harsh expulsion policy of the school. He passes the first student of the day, a young man named Bobby Strong, helping a woman set up a cart stocked with cheap, plastic water bottles.

"You hear the news? They banned Old So-and-So from the premises this year." says the woman.

"Is that so?" Bobby replies, "What'd he do?"

"Oh, such and such, I hear."

And then he's too far away to hear more. A small freshman girl comes up behind him, his favorite student, almost a younger sister to him. She's counting coins in her hand, trying to find enough money to buy some water, because at this particular school, there are very strict rules on water consumption.

Students must buy water from the school, instead of bringing it from home, and they're not allowed to refill the bottle, either. Anyone who breaks these rules is immediately expelled.

He's walked all the way around the building, talking to Sally Little, and can see Bobby Strong talking to a new girl, the principal's daughter, Hope Cladwell. She's looking for directions to her first class.

"It's the building by the gym," he says, " the one with all the murals on it."

"Gosh, it's beautiful."

"You most certainly are."

"Pardon?"

"It most certainly is."

"Oh, dear. I'm almost late already. Thanks for the directions and such!" And she runs off, toward the building beside the gym with all the murals on it.

"Anytime," Bobby says, slightly dazed, but she's already gone.

The students, and a few of the teacher's aides, have already gathered into a line in front of the water cart. The woman is shouting at one of the above mentioned college age TA's, Joseph Strong, who is not, in fact, a relation of Bobby, but has formed a close friendship with the boy, not unlike Mr. Lockstock and Sally Little.

In fact, most of the students look up to Joseph, and his wife, Josephine, as the unofficial mentors of most of the students, even going so far as to call them "Old Man" and "Ma".

Evidently, Old Man Strong doesn't have enough money on him to pay for the overpriced water. He begs Bobby to talk to the teacher, Ms Pennywise, saying that he's just a little short this morning, just a few cents. A sophomore pipes up from the middle of the line, saying that he's no shorter than he was the day before.

Ms Pennywise begins to lose her temper, which is never a good thing, as she tends to shout when she gets angry and it's rather terrifying, despite the fact that she's smaller than all of the students queued up in front of her.

She begins to argue with the man, and he's trying to reason with her, and the line has disintegrated into utter chaos, and there's only a couple minutes until the bell rings when Mr. Strong, reckless and thirsty, grabs a bottle off the cart.

Everyone freezes. He grabs the lid. The students stare. He begins to twist, and the seal pops. Ms Pennywise quietly beckons Mr. Lockstock forward. Old Man Strong pulls the cap off the bottle, raises it to his lips, and swiftly pours the about half of the contents down his throat. The flimsy plastic crunches as he finishes the rest.

"You've done a terrible thing here today, Strong." Lockstock says, "Breaking the Water Regulation is a terminating offense, _Strong_."

" _Quite_ terminating," echoes the janitor, Mr. Barrel, another college student with a side job. He was never very far from Mr. Lockstock's side, and always seemed to turn up when trouble was brewing.

Mr. Lockstock grabs his arms from behind, and the bottle falls to the ground with a crackle, audible in the complete silence.

"So what if it is?" Joseph Strong gets defiant, "I feel better now, and that's all I care about."

"I always knew we'd get you in the end, Old Man Strong."

The TA begins to panic, begging Bobby not to forget him, and asking him to tell Ma that he loves her. As he's dragged around the corner, his last words to the students are "Remember me! Oh god, what have I done? REMEMBER ME!"

The bell rings.


	2. Mr. Cladwell

It's first period, and in the office, Mr. Fipp, the economics and government teacher, is badgering the principal for his paycheck. Mr. Cladwell is evading his questions, and Fipp is beginning to get irate. The two men are nearly arguing when Hope Cladwell enters the room. 

She hugs her father and apologizes for being late. Her father introduces her to Mr. Fipp and Mr. McQueen, who makes a comment the 'size of her heart', and is sent out, leaving Hope with her father and Mr. Fipp. Mr. Fipp leans sideways on the desk, asking her if she's going to help in the office. Hope brushes him off, telling him that it's just a fax and copy position. 

"A fax/copy girl, huh?" And he takes her hand, "Well, your father mentioned he was bringing on a new... fax/copy girl. He neglected, however, to mention how... beautiful she'd be. You'd be. You're so beautiful. Even as a little girl, I always thought—"

Mr. Cladwell slams his hand on the table, startling Mr. Fipp, who slips off the desk and nearly falls on his face before regaining his balance. Cladwell hints that perhaps Fipp should get back to his job, and Fipp agrees, on the condition that he gets his paycheck. Cladwell agrees, on the condition that Fipp gets the vote to raise the cost of the water bottles through the district office. Fipp agrees, on the condition that he gets his paycheck. Cladwell agrees, on the condition that the vote comes through. Fipp agrees, on the condition that— Mr. Cladwell sends him out of the room. He winks and blows a kiss at Hope on the way to the door. 

"Let's meet the staff. Staff!" Mr. Cladwell calls, and suddenly the room fills with secretaries and teachers, suits and lab coats and pencil skirts and scarves. "This here's my daughter, and our newest fax/copy girl, Hope Cladwell." 

Hope greets everyone in the room, and gives a very short, awkward speech, which is received with resounding applause from all who hear. Her father makes another speech, talking about how he made this school a promise that has been kept for twenty years, and how Hope will be the next to uphold it. It's rather boring, but as the employees value their jobs, they clap anyway. He then says that he is the one who pays all the salaries, and that he'd brought the school up from the dust, declaring, "I'm the man with the plan and so who should you thank?"

Mr. McQueen, in a fit of bad judgement, corrects his grammar, because he should have used whom instead of who. Mr. Cladwell quells him with a glare. The rest of the staff cover the young math teacher's mistake by singing the praises of their principal, people chiming in with their contributions at various intervals. By the way they were talking, they couldn't be expected to hope for much more in a principal. The staff go on to laud his monetary value and his wonderful idea to make the students pay for water. Mr. Cladwell, mollified, stops glaring.

Hope comments that she didn't know monopolising the school's water could be such a good thing for the world.

Mr. McQueen assures her that the money taken from the students is simply ending up where it belongs, and it's helping to make the school stronger. Her father tells her that charging for water is their right as the ones in charge. Hope is still a bit doubtful, so the math teacher continues, reassuring her that they're not greedy, and that they need the funds for the science teacher, Dr. Billeaux's, research on making seawater potable. The doctor steps in to explain his project, which isn't yielding any results, but is providing plenty of hands on work for his classes. 

Hope feels conflicted. Her father reprimands her and reminds her that he didn't send her to The Most Expensive Boarding School In The World to teach her how to feel conflicted. She agrees, and he tells her to start on her office help. Before she leaves the room, he welcomes her home again and they embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please tell me what you think!


	3. Cop Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lockstock and Barrel have a moment

It's after school, the time when the sun casts long shadows and everything seems tinted orange. The hall monitor walks around a high school campus. He is accompanied by Sally Little, who doesn't seem quite so little walking beside him, as he isn't particularly vertically gifted. Of course, "little" Sally Little was taller than the majority of the students, but that's beside the point.

She asks Lockstock for spare change. He obliges, digging in his pockets and handing her an assortment of coins. 

"Say, Mr. Lockstock, we don't spend much time of hydraulics, do we?" 

"Hydraulics, Sally?"

"You know, hydraulics? Hydration? Irrigation? Even plain old laundry! Seems to me that with all the talk of water shortage and drought and whatnot, we might spend some more time on those things too. After all, a dry spell would affect hydraulics too, you know."

Lockstock sighs. He reminds her that it's usually better to think about a few big things, rather than a lot of little things. 

Sally is not satisfied. Lockstock reminds her that the late bus is about to leave, and if she wants to get some water she should probably go get water.

The janitor, a young man by the name of Barrel, emerges from behind the bleachers. 

"What a day." 

Lockstock agrees. The two men begin discussing the termination of the (mostly) beloved Joseph Strong. His shouting had echoed over the campus, from Mr. Cladwell's office to the library, the music building to the woodshop, the cafeteria to the quad. Mr. Barrel is slightly disappointed, he'd thought that the TA would just accept his fate quietly. 

Lockstock points out that everyone fights, in the end. No matter how terrible the water restrictions were, no staff member wanted to leave. He tells Barrel that he should expect only the expected. 

There's a lot more paperwork to being fired than you'd expect. It's a hard, cold, journey that only leads out. No detours, no reprieves. 

Take Julie Cassidy, the former earth science teacher. She smuggled in several bottles of outside water for an experiment and was terminated by the end of the day.

Or Jacob Rosenbloom. (World history) He had stores of water hidden in his classroom to give to the students for free. Bam. Gone. 

Roger Roosevelt. Computer skills. Nobody knew the entire reason he was fired, but rumor had it that he kept a bottle in his pants with a straw hidden in his collar, to sip from when nobody was looking. 

There are those who say that the school's methods are vicious, overly malicious, that the staff is a bunch of brutes. The staff say they gather for the students and trample every trace of rebellion out of them. (With hobnail boots) 

Mr. Lockstock steps closer to the janitor and whispers in his ear, "Don't be like them." Barrel shivers. 

Stepping back, Lockstock claps his hands together. Loudly. Barrel jumps. 

"Alright! Back to work!"


End file.
